archived
Estimated reading time 2 min
This post has been archived and may include outdated content

Weekly notes – Weeks 42 and 43

The latest weekly update from Sitra's Strategy Unit...

Published

This week we will give a brief update on what everyone is working on. It will be short, but will give a flavour of what is in the works in the Strategy Unit.

First, Vesa-Matti Lahti will start a one year sabbatical in December wherein he will have a chance to do a bit of work on his summer cottage, but he will also be writing – or at least trying to write, says Vesa-Matti – a book about an autonomous colony in Siberia. His grandfather was part of this colony. The colony thrived for many years in the 1920s, but as so many do, eventually dissolved, although traces of it remain in the Russian city where it was situated. Vesa-Matti has a small mountain of material to dig into and we can’t wait to see the results!

Also, Timo Hämäläinen will be headed to Washington DC to begin a 3-month fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Wilson Center is a prominent institution for the study of global issues that was given its charter by the US Congress as a memorial to the late US president. Timo will be doing a deep dive into questions about the development of new business ecosystems in advanced societies. Some of his central research questions will include: how do new business ecosystems develop and what kinds of policy would support their development?

Gentlemen, we wish you luck and look forward to reading the fruits of your time away.

Meanwhile, work continues on a variety of fronts in the Research Team. The Sitra Trends List 2014/2015, which provides our interpretation of the directions of global societal transformations, is now out.  And, the second iteration of Sitra’s Discussion Paper on building a Sustainable Well-being Society, capably led by Eeva Hellström, continues to make strides as we set sights on publication in the Spring.

Teppo Turkki continues his focus on Asia, now for a variety of Finnish organisations.  And, my research project plan on education has been presented to the team and will be developed further. More to come on all fronts.

It is a busy and fulfilling autumn.

What's this about?